The Race

 DEVOTION

TO HEBREWS

THE RACE

Heb 12:1-3

12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

NIV

After considering throwing off that which hinders us and that sin which so easily entangles us, we now must run the race marked out for us with perseverance. The question is what exactly the race is. We know it is not a sprint but rather a marathon. When we watch some great marathons, especially those cross-county versions, we see the runners having to endure various hills and valleys, some even muddy or slippery. It is the same with the great Tour De France that covers 2,200 miles over a 23-to-24-day period, with the bikers having to endure some long uphill climbs through various mountain ranges in France, then racing like the wind downhill. This race that is marked out for us is not limited to the Boston Marathon of 23 miles, or the 23-to-24-day period of the Tour De France. Our race is a lifetime event, from the first moment we accept Jesus Christ until we reach the finish line exhaling our last breath. It would appear that all of us believers are in this race, but we wonder if we all have the exact same course or do some of us have different courses on the marathon. Certainly, not all of us have been called to be preachers or pastors, nor are all of us called to be missionaries or evangelists, prophets and apostles, yet some are. Others are called to be elders and deacons, and some have a race marked out to work with children. Does that make their race more difficult than others? That is a race that is marked out for us and in the sense the author is talking about it is the common race of living as a believer or a person of faith. All of us encounter obstacles alone the path of living by faith, that is why we must run with perseverance the race that is marked out for us. This begs the other question as to what it means to have it marked out for us. Living with faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation, and our resurrection into eternal life means we have but one path to run on, the one that is marked out for us. We cannot try to run that race if we are always being distracted by another path and try to run on both at the same time. Jesus was very specific about that when he told us we cannot serve two masters. We cannot run the race following Jesus while we are trying to run a race following after that which the pagans do, the path of money, success, security for the future, hoarding our funds for our retirement and all those other goals and ambitions of the world race the pagans are running. It’s not that Jesus wants us to be poor and broken people, with nothing of the things of this world. However, the race we are on means that we also put all our trust in Jesus and He supplies all our needs as we race after Him and follow the race, He has marked out for us. We know all the road signs, we know the path we are to be on, we know how to run this race and how to persevere through any of those difficult times because we know what faith looks like, we have seen it, and we experience faith daily. We live by faith, and we are in the process of being transformed into the image of Christ as we race down this path Jesus marked out for us. Let us not wander, or get distracted, but let us stay the course on the race marked out for us, the race is conducted with faith and with our eyes, which we will get to later.